Collingwood star Jordan De Goey's season is over after scans confirmed he sustained a high-grade hamstring injury in the Magpies' heart-stopping three-point win against Carlton.
The Magpies kept their premiership defence alive in the most dramatic fashion, surviving a final-quarter onslaught from the Blues and having to rely on Carlton defender Mitch McGovern missing a shot after-the-siren.
But De Goey, who has been battling groin soreness for weeks, was subbed off in the third quarter after hobbling from the field.
Collingwood confirmed on Sunday scans had revealed the hamstring injury involved tendon damage, leaving De Goey facing a recovery period of about three months.
Magpies coach Craig McRae had expected bad news after Saturday night's match.
"A hamstring, high-grade," McRae said.
"I would have thought that's going to be difficult for him to play in the short-to-medium term.
"I've just been told it's high grade and obviously it's not great for him."
The De Goey injury soured an unforgettable night for Collingwood, who celebrated Scott Pendlebury's 400th game with a trademark thrilling finish.
The Magpies led by 32 points early in the final term, but conceded the last five goals and allowed McGovern the chance to snatch a famous win for Carlton.
"We're building," McRae said.
"This is the time of year you want to get hot.
"We're not quite hot, but we're simmering, and there's definitely some momentum coming.
"We've got the personnel back in that strengthen us up.
"For most of the game it looked like a Collingwood game.
"We've been building this for weeks."
With three games to go, Collingwood sit 10th, but only a game outside the top eight, ahead of a match with fading ladder-leaders Sydney at the SCG next Friday night.
Pendlebury became just the sixth VFL/AFL player to reach 400 games, but the 36-year-old showed no signs of slowing a day after being arguably the Magpies' best player in his milestone game, with 27 possessions and nine clearances.
"He's an incredible player," McRae said.
"Some of the stuff he did late, some of the stuff he did when we needed him.
"He's probably going to get sick of me saying this, but I don't want to wait until I'm older and grey to appreciate him.
"We'll share a beer at some stage and maybe a red wine."